F. Scott Fitzgerald: 

The Lost Stories (Omnibus)

A selection of stories taken from a collection of previously unpublished work by F Scott Fitzgerald, I'd Die For You: and Other Lost Stories.

01 Introduction & Thank You for the Light

Read by Laurel Lefkow and Karen Bartke

02 The Couple

Finn Den Hertog reads a previously unpublished tale about the disintegration of a young marriage.  

03 Salute to Lucy and Elsie

Stuart Milligan reads a previously unpublished story about honour, morals and the gulf between generations.

Romance, parties, cocktails and glamour - as a young writer in the 1920s F Scott Fitzgerald gave the magazines what they wanted. He had little choice; short stories were his bread and butter. But as the author matured he yearned to explore darker territory.

This desire wasn't cushioned by wealth; The Great Gatsby hadn't sold well and as the Depression crunched in the early 30s, Fitzgerald was hit by large medical bills for both himself and his wife Zelda. Despite the financial pressures he resisted the easy censorship requested by editors, who balked at Fitzgerald's portrayal of confusing generational freedoms, sex before marriage, divorce and working women.

Growing increasingly uncompromising about deletions and sanitisations, Fitzgerald preferred to let these stories lie in wait until their time came.

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie

OTX  May and June 2017 BBC Radio 4

Book at Bedtime

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